SANTA CLAWED

Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her four-legged sleuthing friends are back for another adventure in the wonderful setting of Crozet, Va. It feels like meeting up with old friends. If this is a first visit, you might feel overwhelmed by the many characters. But, as in any small town, you'll soon feel welcomed. The mystery is deftly plotted and spins off in some unexpected ways, and the ending will be a surprise.

There's nothing like Christmas in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. But when Harry and her husband, Fair, go to the tree farm run by The Brothers of Love, a monastic organization, they find the dead body of an old acquaintance who had recently joined the order.

Harry has no plans to get involved, until more men turn up dead and it's clear a murderer is on the loose. So much for the more the merrier! If Harry and her four-legged friends, feline sleuths Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and their corgi pal Tee Tucker don't watch out, she could be joining an all-male club. (BANTAM, Nov., 256 pp., $25.00)

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July Ratings

Download the ratings for all the new books reviewed in the July issue, conveniently formatted on easily printable pages.